Fundraising campaign launched to give dying mum her smile back for one last family photo

Kelly Murray has lost all her teeth after being diagnosed with rare killer disease Langerhan Cell Histiocytosis

Smiling sons: Kelly would like to leave Bradley and Louis a happy family picture

A dying mum is desperate to get her smile back - so she can leave her two young sons a happy family photograph.

Kelly Murray, 32, has only 12 months to live and has lost half her teeth because of a killer disease.

The rare condition has caused the bones in her mouth to disintegrate, distorting her face and leaving her unable to laugh.

Despite her ordeal the mum wants to create a last family photo for her sons Bradley, 10 and Louis, nine, before she dies.

She said: “I used to be so confident, but now I never want to pose for pictures with my sons because I have lost most of my teeth.

“I would love some photographs of me and my boys with me smiling and looking happy.

“They would be able to look at them in years to come when I’m not there and remember me that “

Pals are now trying to raise money to help put a smile back on Kelly’s face.

Ross Parry / SWNS Group

Before diagnosis: Kelly with sons Bradley and Louis and their dad Jason before she became so unwell

The mum was diagnosed with Langerhan Cell Histiocytosis 12 years ago - a condition that affects just one in a million adults.

She was first given the devastating diagnosis when she was 20 when both of her lungs collapsed.

Kelly was told she had just five years to live but stunned doctors when she passed the deadline and became the only person recorded with the illness ever to have her own children.

But since the start of last year Kelly’s health has declined and she has lost nearly four stones, dropping to six stones.

Doctors at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital have now given her just 12 months to live.

Langerhan Cell Hisiocytosis, or LCH, is an extremely rare cancer-like disease that attacks the organs.

It causes pain in the bones, spontaneous fractures, loss of teeth and extreme fatigue as well as weakness, seizures and collapsed lungs. Kelly has to use an oxygen tank because the disease has cut her lung function by 60%.

It can also affects the pituitary gland, as in Kelly’s case, affecting memory.

Ross Parry / SWNS Group

Appeal: Kelly's friends want to raise £3,000 to pay for her dental work

Kelly from New Whittington in Chesterfield, said: “It has caused the bones in my mouth to disintegrate and has distorted my face.”

“I have lost half my teeth, eating is becoming really difficult and I have to use oxygen because my lungs are not working properly.

“There is no known cure. There is treatment available in America but that costs £100,000 and my insurance would be more than £35,000 so that's out of the question. There is also no guarantee it would be successful.

“I find it hard to accept that I won’t see my sons grow up. I want to see them grow into young men.

“I don’t want to miss their first day of secondary school but I have to accept it won’t happen.

“I have always tried to keep on going, but you know your own body, and I know. I can barely lift things. Sometimes the pain is so bad and I don’t sleep, and if I do I wake up gasping. I’m more tired and I feel weaker.”

On her wish to have pictures taken with her boys, she said: “I have thought about having dentures fitted but I can’t afford it. They would give me my confidence back in the short time I have left.”

Kelly’s friends Karla Wilkinson and Sherralyn Newton, are trying to raise £3,000 so Kelly can have veneer dentures fitted to give her back her smile.

Her pal Karla. 31, also from Chesterfield, said: “Kelly is such a brave woman, bringing up her two boys despite the pain she has endured.